Chapter 15: A Look Towards the Future

The days were a whirlwind of exhaustion and unease. I was running on adrenaline and had a thousand thoughts in my head. The Watchers were drawing near, and every day they became more powerful. In a world filled with evil, Nathaniel was my only hope and protector. Because we faced the same enemy, we worked as a team. We were talking about our goals one evening as we sat by the fire when I noticed something off about the atmosphere. It was an uneasy feeling as if something terrible was about to occur. With fear in my eyes, I stared at Nathaniel. Are you experiencing that? With an almost audible whisper, I asked. With a strange desire in his eyes, he nodded. "There seems to be an impending event," he said. We heard a knock on the door just then. My heart hammered in my chest, I got to my feet to answer. I had never seen this woman before, yet there she was as I answered the door. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me; she was tall and thin. She spoke, softly and sweetly, "You are Emma Harper." Heart thumping in my chest, I nodded. Who did she represent? What was it that she desired? She went on, "I am a psychic," with an odd intensity in her gaze. "I have been observing you." There was a moment of panic. This woman appeared different from the psychics I usually did not believe in. Something was unsettling about her. "What is it that you want?" My voice faltered, I enquired. She smiled, a knowing smile that made my spine tingle. She replied, "I can help you." "I have a peek into the future." I stopped, my mind racing. Could she see a peek of the future? I was unsure of whom to believe. However, she said something that stopped my heart in its tracks. With a voice full of tremendous anguish, she murmured, "One of you will die." My shocked eyes became bigger. To whom was she referring? Me, or Nathaniel? With pity in her eyes, the woman looked at me. She said, "I apologise." "I am powerless to help." Sadness washed over me like a tsunami. Nathaniel was too valuable to lose. My whole universe revolved around him. With horrified eyes, I cast a quick look at Nathaniel. I said, hardly audible above a whisper, "She is right." "Dangers face us." Pale on his face, Nathaniel nodded. He said, "We need to exercise caution." Extremely circumspect. The villagers' worry increased as the days dragged into weeks. The Watchers were more aggressive and desperate. There was nowhere to go as they closed in on us. Nathaniel collapsed one evening while we were sitting by the fire talking about our goals. He became pale and rolled his eyes within his head. My heart thumping in my chest, I cried out. With shaking hands, I moved to his side. He was breathing, but his consciousness was hardly there. My voice was laced with fear as I called for an ambulance. I kept feeling that this was connected while I waited for the paramedics to arrive. Risk, the psychic, the Watchers. Everything was starting to fit together. Nathaniel was taken to the hospital by the paramedics who arrived. My heart hammered within my chest as I followed them. I thought about what the psychic had said as I waited in the emergency room. We would all die together. I could not allow that to occur. To lift Eldridge Falls' curse, I needed to figure out how to stop the Watchers. But how? There was a commotion as I was sitting in the waiting room, thinking nonstop. It came from behind me, a little voice. With my heart thumping loudly in my chest, I spun around. That was the woman who had been to see me earlier, standing in the shadows. With a scary smile that made my spine tingle, she smiled. It is time, she said. "The last battle." The woman appeared from the shadows, her eyes glowing with an odd intensity. With a low, menacing voice, she said, "The Watchers are coming." "What they start, they are going to finish." A wave of fear and icy dread washed over me. Needing to stop them and keep Nathaniel safe was my mission. My chest pounded as I got to my feet. I said, my voice trembling, "I will not let you." "I will stop you from hurting him." Her laugh was so scary that it sent shivers down my back. She said, "You are an idiot." "You believe you could stop us?" I chose not to respond. I just looked at her, intently in my eyes. With a stride towards her pocket, she reached over. I saw it all of a sudden. A dagger was in her hand. I knew I had to take quick action. I lunged towards her, severing her access to the blade. Our bodies twisted and moved as we fought for a minute. My heart thumping in my chest, I broke free and ran away. With her footsteps echoing closely, she hurried behind me. My legs burning with agony, I ran through the streets. Her voice was getting closer, and I could sense the rage in it. As I arrived at the town's periphery, darkness encroached on my surroundings. I turned to look behind me, but nothing caught my eye. She disappeared. I collapsed onto a park bench, my body trembling from exhaustion. Right then, I was safe. But I understood that there was still a great deal of risk. I was still in danger, and the Watchers would not let up until they had me. Looking up at the stars, I sat on the park bench. Their distant, chilly light stood in stark contrast to the fire that had formerly burned brightly inside of me as if they were mocking me. I had endured so much hardship. However, I remained upright. I could take this, I could figure out how to stop the Watchers. I took one last look at the town before leaving. Eldridge Falls was a village lost to the shadows, a place of lies and secrets. But I would make that different. Eldridge Falls would be a better place if I returned the light. And as I advanced towards the horizon, I came to understand that the battle was far from over. The Watchers remained on the field, and their influence grew every day. But I was prepared. Never before had I felt so powerful. I would face the darkness, and I would overcome it.